Butler, the Rescue’s facility manager, said the smell was so bad in the two-story aviary that the team had to wear full isolation gear and respirator masks. “The floor was littered with debris, old cardboard boxes, broken down pieces of equipment, open bags of rotted bird food, and clutter,” she said.
The walls and ceiling, she said, were covered with “thick bands of spider webs” that coated the rescue team from head to toe as they entered and exited the building with arms full of carriers containing birds of all shapes, colors and sizes.
The team sorted through the “dessicated corpses” of many birds, in an effort to identify them. A number had decomposed quite a bit. “Amidst the corpses were the remains of what can be described as more beak than body of one bird,” she said, adding that the bird was possibly a toucan.
She said a number of boxes were covered with feces, seeds, droppings, and mites, and were “crawling with insects that no amount of wiping could begin to remove.”
The floor, she said, was covered with at least three inches of “foul, unidentifiable urine soaked refuse.”
Canvas bags marked “Uptown birds,” were scattered throughout the building. The name on the bags may possibly have been a reference to the property owner’s former business, Fauna, a pet shop located on the upper west side of Manhattan.
On the second floor of the aviary, Butler came across hanging, mesh cages which she said were filled with malnourished, starving birds coated in droppings and refuse.
Erica Collins, media coordinator for Rhode Island Parrot Rescue, called the situation “heartbreaking” because parrots are “beautiful, intelligent and emotional creatures.”
“People don’t realize how intelligent exotic birds can be,” Collins said. “You should have seen their little faces looking out through the carriers as they were brought inside.”
Daniel George Kopulos has been involved in the Scarlet MaCaw project that was probably some psuedo project as nature does not need our help it just needs us to let it be and leave its animals alone.
She said volunteers receiving the birds in Warwick became extremely emotional as they unpacked the impoverished creatures. They immediately assessed their health and put them in clean cages filled with food and water.
“At the end of the day it really took a toll on us,” she said. “If you saw the conditions the birds were living in you would be sick in the pit of your stomach,” she said.
Altogether, Rhode Island Parrot Rescue took in 130 birds from Weston. Quite a bit more than the facility is used to accommodating. Collins said they usually have up to 40 birds at any given time.
To ensure public health and safety measures are followed, the rescued birds are being quarantined for at least 30 days, Collins said.
To help with the substantial veterinary costs and care of the birds, the group is accepting donations on its website, riparrots.org Click on the tab marked “donate & wishlist.” Donations should be marked “Weston Birds” so they are applied to this case.
The public can keep track of the birds by visiting riparrots.org and the Facebook page — Rhode Island Parrot Rescue, where the group gives frequent updates about the birds.
Editor’s Note: The property at 82 Newtown Turnpike, Weston, is owned by Daniel Kopulos, a New York City pet shop owner.
Daniel George Kopulos (age 41) lives at 82 Newtown Turnpike Weston, CT and is affiliated with the Democratic Party. He is a male registered to vote in Connecticut
Fauna NYC Uptown Birds
2300 SOUTHERN BLVD BRONX NY 10460
522 526 AMSTERDAM AVE NEW YORK NY 10024
Filed under: ANIMALS EXPLOITED FOR PROFIT, Cruelty to Animals Tagged: 570 Columbus Avenue (Between 87th & 88th Streets) New York, NY 10024 Phone: (212) 877-2473 Fax: (212) 877-5031 sales@faunanyc.com, 82 Newtown Turnpike, animal hoarding, Daniel George Kopulos, daniel kopulos, department of energy and environmental protection, Fauna, Fauna NYC, Fauna NYC Uptown Birds, http://faunanyc.myshopify.com/, Let Birds Be Free, new york pet shop, Parrot Rescue, Rhode Island Parrot Rescue, Say No To Cages, South Wilton Veterinary Group, Weston, weston police